*****
“Floors two and three are clear?” asked Max.
Hemp nodded. “Yes. All clear. Now we just have to complete the first floor sweep and hope the garage level is safe.”
Gem came back in the room with Cynthia Preston. She had been in a small office – all glass, but they stood behind some filing cabinets for the physical inspection.
“She’s got some small cuts, but not from human contact so far as I can tell,” Gem said. “No bites or scratches that might have come from teeth or nails.”
“Any headache?” asked Max.
“No, not at all,” Cynthia said. “I’m exhausted, but my head feels fine.”
She had clearly calmed down somewhat. Hemp and I had dropped her off with Max, Gem and Trina, then we’d completed the other hallway and room searches. Not many areas to get to without swipe cards, so if you weren’t in one of the labs when the transmutation hit you, you didn’t likely access one afterward.
“I’d suggest you stay here with Max. We’re going to set it up so he’s got power available to him for over a month, and there should be plenty of food. Nobody knows how long this will go on, but the CDC is the best place to be.”
She nodded. “I’m only an assistant, but when this started, I heard things. People I worked with were leaving, rushing home to check on their families. The main outbreak happened on the third floor, and some made it down and out and I guess to their cars.”
She sat heavily into one of the rolling lab chairs. “My mother is at home, taking care of my daughter, Taylor.” Cynthia began to cry and Gem sat in another of the chairs and rolled up beside her.
“Cynthia, honey, how far away is she? Where’s your mother?”
“Two miles,” she said. “She lives two miles west of here.”
Gem looked at me as she asked the next question. “Cynthia, how old is your daughter?”
I rolled my eyes.
“She’s eight.”
I tried to turn away from Gem’s glare. “We have a lot of work to do,” I said, knowing this wasn’t going to go well for me somehow.
“Flex, I’ll go. Trina can stay with Cynthia and Max, since both have already been checked out for cuts and bites – a quick run there and back. If her daughter and mom are okay, I’ll bring them back with me.”
Cynthia’s face looked grateful. “I have to go with you, please,” she said. Her eyes pleaded, too.
Gem wasn’t done. “I have a GPS in the vehicle, Cynthia. You give me the address and you don’t need to come. It is dangerous out there, and unless you’re experienced with firearms, you’ll be putting both of us at greater risk.”
“Babe, would you mind stepping into the hallway with me for just a moment?” I asked.
She obliged. I let the door rest against the jamb without latching, and spoke in a low voice.
“You know the odds are against both of them being okay, right? And if one or the other is infected, we can assume it’s over.”
“I didn’t assume you were infected. Or Trina. I came looking for you, which is what she wants to do, Flex. And if you don’t mind, I’d like to assume we’ll find them alive.” Gem stopped talking for a moment, looked through the wire-reinforced window in the lab door at Cynthia Preston, and then back at me.
“And if they’re not okay, at least she’ll know, one way or the other. That’s important.”
I shook my head. “I can’t stop you, can I? Even if I refuse you use of my truck?”
“I’ll just find something else to use.”
I wanted to laugh and kick her ass at the same time. Nothing had really changed, but looking at her now, her expression so defiant, I realized this was why I was nuts about her. Headstrong and a pain in the ass, but tough as hell and frightened of nothing.
So I kissed her. I pulled her face to mine and I closed my eyes and kissed the shit out of her. When I pulled away, her eyes opened slowly, and her mouth turned upward into a smile. She said nothing, but stared into my eyes.
“I know you’re smart and tough, but I just got you back,” I said.
She held both my wrists with her small, long-fingered hands. “And you won’t lose me,” she said.
“So you say. And I better not. But promise me you’ll convince her to stay here. I don’t want her to distract you and put you at risk any more than you will be. Okay?”
Gem nodded, then put her arms around my neck and pressed her lips to mine, softer this time. My lips parted, and I reveled in the taste of her, the softness of her mouth. We finished the kiss and I closed my eyes and rested my cheek against hers. “I love you, Gem. Make it fast, okay?”
She promised.
We went back inside, and Gem sat with Cynthia until the woman was nodding, tears rolling down her swollen cheeks.
She had agreed to stay and let Gem investigate. Gem wrote down the address and Cynthia’s mother’s full name. She jotted the name ‘Taylor’ down beside it. Her daughter. She produced a photograph from her wallet, taken from a purse she seemed surprised was still clutched in her hands.
“Take the Uzi and get plenty of spare mags from the truck before you head out. If you’re not back in an hour, we’re coming after you.”
Give me forty-five minutes.”
“Wait!” I called just as the door was closing. She stopped and I reached into my belt bag. “Take this. Its range won’t be the advertised 20 miles, but it should work for two to three.”
She took the walkie from me. “This place is well within that. Good. I like this.”
“You like it,” I said, smiling. “If you get into any trouble just hit that button and yell.” I turned to Max. “There are other gassed up vehicles in that garage, right?”
“Absolutely. They keep them full and ready to roll. You might be impressed with the selection.”
I turned back to Gem. “Okay, now that my brain is back in gear and I know we’ll have a way to communicate and come after you if necessary, get going and hurry back.”
The dog and I looked worriedly at the door as it closed. I looked from it to Trina, who was awake, but staring blankly at the floor.”
“Trini, I think it’s time to name that girl. She can’t go through her life as dog. What if you were only called girl your whole life?”
Despite her exhaustion, she smiled. “That’s silly, Uncle Flexy. Everybody’s got a name.”
I nodded toward the Great Pyrenees. “Not her. At least not one we know.”
She smiled. “I’ll think of something.”
“And while you’re at it, you should start thinking about seeing if Max has a bowl to give her some water. And you should start thinking about names for the puppies, too.”
With that, she began looking around the room for much needed inspiration.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Dead Hunger: The Flex Sheridan Chronicle Page 24